The news archives
2002
2001
2000

PCM at City of Norwich School

PCM’s Projects team has been embracing education again – this time around in an interesting installation at the City of Norwich School.

Combining the key skills of lateral thinking and technical ingenuity, PCM designed and specified a completely bespoke trussing flying system for the school’s charismatic assembly hall, which dates back to 1910.

As a specialist supplier, Embee was asked to asked by the School’s buildings contractor Environ Ltd (formally ABB), to tender for the supply and install of new lighting and sound equipment for the hall.

The idea was to transform the limited-use hall into a multi-purpose venue.

The hall’s voluminous roof void was an obvious ‘dead’ space to try and utilise in the name of technical production. However the roof had no weight loadings – so traditional truss suspension techniques were not practical.

Mark Bailey turned to PCM to help find a flying solution that also retained the hall’s internal integrity and aesthetics. The system needed to be capable of quick assembly and have an easy raising and lowering operation, as well as accommodate a wide variety of sound, lighting and AV equipment.

PCM’s project team took the initiative and proposed a vertical suspension system usually employed for moving industrial cranes across factory ceilings and gantries – usually on a horizontal plane. However with a small amount of customisation, the system lent itself equally to vertical orientation, as the supporting truss trolleys are encapsulated in the track and therefore remain captive.

Two synchronised Gis hoists move each of three 10 metre de-mountable triangular 30.5 cm spans (Thomas SuperLite) up and down. Each runs along a pair of vertical tracks up to a maximum height of 15 metres. PCM has also installed all necessary electrical and control systems for three more spans to be added later.

The vertical tracks themselves are incredibly discreet – only a few centimetres wide – and fixed unobtrusively to the hall’s structural wall pillars each side of the room, where they are easily accessed for maintenance. The trusses can be completely removed for events requiring use of the room’s full ceiling height.

The hoist control system - housed in a separate room - was also custom designed. It’s user friendly and built specifically to accompany the flying system by PCM.

“We’re delighted with the results” declares the school’s Learning Resource Manager David Brodie, explaining that the trusses have made a big difference to the versatility and dynamics of the hall. It’s now used for all types of events including art exhibitions, school discos, bands and live performance, theatrical stagings, debates, meetings, conferences, multi-media presentations of all types and the popular news and music television broadcasts run during break times.

This style of contract further illustrates PCM’s growing reputation for designing and manufacturing practical bespoke solutions for all environments.

Princes Hall, Aldershot

PCM has just completed the refurbishment of stage equipment at the Princess Hall in Aldershot, Wiltshire.

The desperately needed overhaul and updating of the theatre’s hemp and winch systems was initiated by technical manager Kevin Andrew. His request to PCM was to replace it with a new, quick-and-easy lifting solution that would allow the venue’s busy technical team to capitalise on tight turnaround times.

The theatre stages all types of productions from a miscellany of live bands – classical to contemporary, dramas, theatrical productions, dance, musicals, cabaret, panto, comedy, etc. Their busy schedule often sees 4 - 5 different shows going through in a week, all with different lighting and production requirements..

PCM’s projects manager Tony Griffiths spotted an opportunity to recommend using their new award winning Unibar™ – winner of the PLASA 2003 Award for Product Design Excellence in the stage engineering category.

The Unibar ™ is ideal for this style of venue, offering a real cost-effective alternative to electric Pilewind hoists.

Designed around `BS7905 part 1` and the `Technical Standards For Places Of Entertainment`, the Unibar has been designed with a safety ratio of 8 to 1 at a maximum loading of 400 Kgs. Completely contained within its own support bracket, the Unibar allows a chain hoist to electrically drive a clew plate horizontally along a guide track. Attached to the clew plate can be up to 10 suspension cables. The cables pass around guide pulleys and lower to a suspension bar, truss or lighting bar.

Kevin Andrew soon realised that the compact and flexible nature of the Unibar ™ would fit perfectly onto the Princess Hall’s 60mm tubular grid. In addition to this, the Unibar excelled itself due to the limited wing space and the sloping roof, an environment where alternative methods of controlled electrical lifting would have been extremely difficult.

One of the Unibar`s many bonuses is the low electrical current required to operate each unit. Only 10.5 amps is required to operate all five Unibar`s™ simultaneously at the Princess Hall.

Andrew comments, “The Unibars have changed our lives here! Trying to lift a touring rig of moving lights on a hemp bar was not fun! Now with the Unibars, it can all be done at the touch of a button. They are quick, reliable, do the job and allow us to be so much more efficient and flexible than before.”

In addition to the Unibar`s, PCM also installed three of their own worm-driven Oil Bath manually operated winch systems, which also consist of new ball-raced pulleys, steel wire cables and suspension bars.

Working closely with Adam Beaumont from A.C. Lighting North, the Princess Hall’s lighting system was updated with a new front of house Litec QX30 24-way internally wired truss, three 12-way onstage lighting bars, two of A.C’s own Tourspot 575 automated lighting fixtures and a 24 way patch panel for use with the existing dimmer system.

PCM at ShowTech 2003

Lodestar motors available from PCM include the standard rigging range, the BGV C1/ VBG 70 hoists with special safety features and the FX Star range with variable speed - now available for theatrical use.
The BGV C1 Lodestars have double brakes- each capable of stopping the full load; double the normal hoist safety factor, with a chain safety factor of 10:1; 4-position limit switches including emergency switches; 24 volt control; under/overload electronic protection and a slack chain detection device.

The FX Star offers Variable speed as standard allowing the hoist to be run from between 20% to 140% of the standard speed. The special hoists have both absolute and incremental encoders, with up to 500 pulses per revolution of the load chain wheel

PCM also shows the new compact CM Prostar hoists, with increased capacities and speeds. This higher speed version will climb at 6 or 10m/min (increased from the industry standard 4 metres a minute). A new 227 Kg SWL @ 4m per minute version is also shown

PCM also highlights the control options available with the BGV C1 and FX Star hoists. The safety features need to be monitored to ensure correct operation. Both manual and computerised control options are available.

PCM recently announced its takeover of the manufacturing and sales of special Lodestar hoists from sister company Pfaff Stage Technology, and the simultaneous launch a new UK-based operation for supplying these hoists directly to the German market. All customised and non-standard Lodestars are now supplied from PCM.

PCM at Frankfurt 2003

PCM is showing a selection of the standard CM Lodestar and Prostar hoists it stocks. The company is the most proactive UK and European distributors for these hoists, having launched the product in Europe in 1993.

Lodestar motors available from PCM include the standard rigging range, the BGV C1/ VBG 70 hoists with special safety features and the FX Star range with variable speed - now available for theatrical use.

The BGV C1 Lodestars have double the normal hoist safety factor, with a chain safety factor of 10:1; double brakes- each capable of stopping the full load; 4-position limit switches including emergency switches; 24 volt control; under/overload electronic protection and a slack chain detection device.

The FX Star has all the BGV C1 features and also has an internal PLC/ inverter and internal networking software, so all hoists can communicate with each other and with the master controller over a Profibus connection.

The FX Star offers Variable speed as standard allowing the hoist to be run from between 20% to 140% of the standard speed. The special hoists have both absolute and incremental encoders, with up to 500 pulses per revolution of the load chain wheel

PCM also highlights the control options available with the BGV C1 and FX Star hoists. The safety features need to be monitored to ensure correct operation. Both manual and computerised control options are available.

Lodestar Hoist Connector Issue Resolved

The long standing issue reference the use of 3 pin, 110V, 16 Amp yellow CEE-form control connectors fitted to CM Lodestar chain hoists has finally been resolved. From September 1st 2002 both PCM & TOMCAT UK will be supplying all Columbus McKinnon Lodestar hoists with 4 pin, 110V, 16 Amp yellow CEE-form connectors instead of the current 3 pin version. Both companies will be contacting all of their Lodestar customers shortly to discuss this change and its repercussions.

The issue dates back two and a half years, when it became apparent that the continued use of the 3-pin connector for Lodestar hoists would not be possible. Although the connector was extremely well suited to the application in many areas, for safety reasons, it was felt that the use of the earth pin as a conductor should preclude its future use.

This resulted in extensive discussions involving hoist manufacturer Columbus McKinnon, PCM, Pfaff Stage Technology & TOMCAT UK on the suitability of the connectors and possible replacements. The discussions were supported by the Production Services Association (PSA) and the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), with input from PLASA and other relevant organisations. The suggested solution is to use a 4 pin, 110V, 16 Amp yellow CEE-form connector - already widely in use for the same application in mainland Europe. The HSE has noted that although both EN 60204-1 & EN 60204-32 preclude the use of EN 60309-2 CEE-form plug & socket connectors in control applications (as they are mains connectors), there may be justifiable reasons for using such connectors providing that the earth pin is not used for any purpose other than as a protective conductor. The technical reasons for such selection should be contained in a technical file, and the deviations from the standard stated in the Certificate of Conformity supplied with the Lodestar product. Both PLASA & the PSA agree with this statement from the HSE.

Although some changes will obviously be necessary, the 4 pin connectors will be readily available from all the usual entertainment industry suppliers, many of which have also been involved in the discussions. The 4 pin connector will also be cost-effective. Although all new hoists will be supplied with the 4 pin version, the continued use of existing units fitted with the 3 pin connector may be appropriate when supported by a risk assessment. The PSA is producing a generic document, available for download from their website (www.psa.org.uk) to help users with this task. For obvious reasons, it’s recommended to change over all hoists to the 4 pin connector as soon as is convenient. For further info, contact PCM, TOMCAT UK or your regular supplier of Columbus McKinnon Lodestar Chain Hoists. Both PCM & TOMCAT UK would like to thank all the contributors who’ve given their time & opinions so generously to the debate. Extra special thanks to Roger Barrett (Star Hire & the PSA) for his help, yet again, in representing the industry.